Mods for sale!!!

[Monsta-Tone]

I'm offering a lot of different Mods on most Mesa amps for a decent price. All work is done by me. I'm a Mesa Phase 1 tech too, so I have all of the proper drawings and am very familiar with their amps.

PM or email me if anybody is interested.

 

[pastorofmuppets]

Do you have any mods for a Mark III other than the Channel 2 volume mod? Anything that affects tone or playability? Also where are you located?

And, any mods for a triple rectifier? My friend has a B-52, I don't know how similar the insides are.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Any mods for a Rectoverb combo?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I'm located in southern New Mexico.

Usually, I just have people ship the chassis and tubes, that way it saves a bundle on shipping.


Pastorofmuppets:
What stripe do you have. I can do the Bias mods like you requested, but I don't like to put holes in amps that may be worth money, so I would put the Bias pots under the chassis where they are not seen. As for Bias ports, it is a much better idea to spend the money on a good Bias Probe that will tell you what the Plate Voltage is. The Bias should be set at 70% dissipation based on your Plate Voltage. I use a Weber model that was only about $150 and it works very well.

There are some things that can be done to Rectos that will get rid of some of the buzziness.



MMJP6:
There are some good mods that can be done to the ROV. Cathode Bias, Adjustable Bias, Tube Reverb, etc.



If you guys can specify what it is that you would like your amps to do, it would be really helpful. You wouldn't walk into Guitar Center and say, "What do you have with strings on it?"



Are you looking for more gain out of a channel? Better tone?

I'll PM each one of you guys to find out exactly what it is that you are looking for.

 

[MikeK]

Is there a mod for a Blue Angel ... putting the preamp tubes onto the rectifier tube instead of the silicone? Will a second rectifier tube have to be added to keep the voltage up when 6V6's and EL84's are running together?

I'm looking for a 'softer edge' ... something a bit 'warmer' but still tight and clean.

 

[boogieman90]

Are there any mods for the LSS? Upgrade components? $$$

 

[pastorofmuppets]

I actually don't even own one yet but I have about $700, I get paid $450 next week and there's a blue stripe by me for $950 and one on HC for ??? I just am looking for mods to better the tone, tighten it up or anything that will make the amp better. And for a bias mod, does that just set the fixed bias a little warmer than what mesa has them set to? I've heard that they preset the bias to the colder side.

 

[fdesalvo]

pastorofmuppets (hahaha):

Beleive it or not, most of the tone you associate with Boogies is due to the colder bias.

 

[boogieman90]

So increasing the bias would warm up the tones?

 

[fdesalvo]

Eh, I say this with hesitation, but slightly. If you bias too hot, the distortion will sound very tinny and harsh! I'm not familiar with your amp, so I don't feel comfortable offering advice, as I don't know how it would affect your particular amp.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

And for a bias mod, does that just set the fixed bias a little warmer than what mesa has them set to? I've heard that they preset the bias to the colder side.

Bias is like the Idle on your car. If it is set too low, the car will be sluggish If it is set too high, the car will waste gas and things will wear out faster. The idea of setting it a bit cold is to prolong tube life. They might have started doing this in the 80's when there were no good sources of tubes, or they might have done it all along. I'm not sure on this one.

Adding an adjustable Bias Pot will allow you to do 2 things:
1. Use any 6L6's as long as they are reasonably matched to one another
2. Warm up the sound and turn your amp into an entirely different creature. It will be much more responsive and it will be more of a pleasure to play. Provided that the tubes that are in it are biased cold.

I did put an adjustable Bias Pot in a Heartbreaker that I used to own and it did nothing for the tone because it had JJ tubes in it already and they were biased a bit hot. The Bias setting is solely dependant upon the tube's characteristics and the voltages available in the amp itself. This is why Groove Tubes has a 1 to 10 rating. The JJ's in the Heartbreaker had super early breakup and would have been about a 2 on the the GT scale


There is a "Happy Spot," where the tubes are at their peak performance.

 

[psychodave]

What mods do you have for a Mark III for R2(green stripe, but the stripe shouldnt matter much). I want R2 to have "almost" as much gain as the Lead channel...but I want the lead channel to be as it is now with regards to gain and tone.

 

[scottcrud]

What mods do you have for a Mark III for R2(green stripe, but the stripe shouldnt matter much). I want R2 to have "almost" as much gain as the Lead channel...but I want the lead channel to be as it is now with regards to gain and tone.

Yea, I'd like to know if that could happen too. So the R2 channel could be used as the main lead channel and the Lead channel could be used for...Leads.

 

[boogieman90]

How much do you charge to install a bias pot? Do you fix the bias warmer or make it fully adjustable?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Yea, I'd like to know if that could happen too. So the R2 channel could be used as the main lead channel and the Lead channel could be used for...Leads

I'm a little hesitant to say that I can do much with R2. It is basically R1 with a few more parts. I never found anything that made R2 sound good other than a pedal, sorry.

How much do you charge to install a bias pot? Do you fix the bias warmer or make it fully adjustable?

$65 plus shipping both ways and you have to provide new Power Tubes and PI.

I use real Bias Pots and adjust it nice and warm, but not too hot so that it will sound the way it should.


Another great mod, which is $50 more is a Cathode Bias/Adjustable Bias switch (only applies if you get the Bias Pot, otherwise it's truly Fixed Bias). Cathode Bias is what Randall Smith calls "Class A." It gives you tons of warmth and sustain, but less headroom and dynamics than Fixed or Adjustable Bias.

 

[psychodave]

Yea, I'd like to know if that could happen too. So the R2 channel could be used as the main lead channel and the Lead channel could be used for...Leads

I'm a little hesitant to say that I can do much with R2. It is basically R1 with a few more parts. I never found anything that made R2 sound good other than a pedal, sorry.

How much do you charge to install a bias pot? Do you fix the bias warmer or make it fully adjustable?

$65 plus shipping both ways and you have to provide new Power Tubes and PI.

I use real Bias Pots and adjust it nice and warm, but not too hot so that it will sound the way it should.


Another great mod, which is $50 more is a Cathode Bias/Adjustable Bias switch (only applies if you get the Bias Pot, otherwise it's truly Fixed Bias). Cathode Bias is what Randall Smith calls "Class A." It gives you tons of warmth and sustain, but less headroom and dynamics than Fixed or Adjustable Bias.

So what you are saying is "no" you dont have any mods for the Mark III's R2? You post is hard to understand.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I'm a little hesitant to say that I can do much with R2. It is basically R1 with a few more parts. I never found anything that made R2 sound good other than a pedal, sorry.

Sorry man, it was 5:30 in the morning.

I can mod R2 to have gobs of gain, but it requires adding a tube to the amp, which requires drilling a hole in the bottom of the chassis.

I usually try to talk people out of this since it devalues the amp. If somebody is more interested in the mod than the value of the amp, this can be done. It would run somewhere around $250 for parts and labor, or between $150 & $200 if you are getting other stuff done at the same time.

 

[boogieman90]

Do you have any refferances/testimonals from people that you've done bias or other work for? Do you have a commerical site or do you work from home? What do you set the bias/cathoide for a LSS at?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I do have many happy customers in my area. If you would like testimonials, I can have them write something up for you, or I can ask them if it is alright to share their phone numbers with you so you can ask them yourself. I have helped many people on this site repair their amps and mod them. I am a Mesa Phase 1 Tech, which means that I'm a Mesa Tech, but there is not enough warranty work in my area to justify putting me on their website and making me a full scale repair center yet. :lol: I own 1 of the 2 Mesa amps under warranty in my area. The other is owned by one of the guys that will give me a great testimonial.

I used to have a Music Store in town, but the economy is such (sucks) that we lost money instead of making it, so we moved everything out to the house.

I'm not sure about the last question, but the LSS is already cathode biased.

 

[boogieman90]

Thanks for your reply. You certainly sound as if you know your stuff, but to send my amp to a stranger, well I am cautious.
My last question was at what power, plate voltage, do your mods get the amp to operate at? I don't want to fry the board later.
I understand the need for new power tubes. What rating or electral operation data is needed to replace the ice cubes that are in their?